Magazine

Women, Let’s Get Our Share

By Sallie Krawcheck

January 17, 2018

Supporting women at work — and I mean, really supporting — is one of the
best things that a society can do for itself.

That’s not an opinion. The Pew Research Center found that an increase in
the percentage of women participating in the U.S. workforce was
instrumental in raising the standard of living between 1950 and 2000.
According to a McKinsey study, one-quarter of the U.S.’s current GDP
since 1970 can be attributed to having more women in the workforce.

It’s about raising the volume on a conversation that women have been having for a long time.

Then there’s this report from the International Monetary Fund that cites
evidence of the positive economic benefits of women realizing their full
workforce potential. This Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report that highlights better integration of women into the
workforce as a means to drive growth. And this research from the World
Economic Forum that supports the argument that reducing gender inequality
leads to greater workforce productivity and helps companies and countries
remain competitive. You get the picture…

What’s even crazier is that women have such a big and positive impact on
the economy despite dealing with gender gaps that both hinder our ability
to truly unlock our potential and cost us significant amounts of money
over our lifetimes. (We literally wrote a book on the different gender
gaps affecting working women today, and how to close them.)

This is What Equality Looks Like

Imagine what would happen if — rather than gender inequality being one of
the biggest problems in the U.S. workforce — gender equality was one of
its defining traits.

Well, you don’t have to imagine: According to a recent McKinsey report,
full gender equality could add up to an estimated $4.3 trillion to the
U.S. annual GDP by 2025. That would bring our projected GDP up to $26.3
trillion.

Though, let’s be honest, we have a lot of ground to make up before we can
reach full gender equality, let alone by 2025. There’s the pay gap,
female underrepresentation — in full-time jobs, high-paying industries,
management-level jobs, and the workforce overall — and the reality that
women handle the bulk of unpaid labor.

The 47%

Despite women making up 51% of the U.S.’s working-age population, we’re
47% of the workforce. Ok, that doesn’t seem that bad as far as room for
improvement goes. It’s seemingly less frustrating than the gender pay
gap, which is worse for many women of color and still worse for women
with disabilities.

But then look at who overwhelmingly works full-time jobs vs. part-time
jobs, and the 47% becomes less comforting. In 2016, women held 43% of
full-time jobs and 64% of part-time jobs. Then look at the gender
breakdown of management roles, and the situation is full-fledged frustrating:
In 2015, only 39% of management positions were held by women.

What this tells us is that being present in the workforce simply isn’t
enough, as many of the opportunities women have involve lower pay, fewer
hours, less growth potential. We’re long overdue for change.

#BeBoldforChange

Here’s the thing: The business case for gender equality at work has been
made over and over and over again. Heck, I even wrote a book (yes,
another book) on it. Yet some companies are still dragging their feet and
refusing to get with the program. That’s their choice, though I’m betting
they’ll realize it’s a losing strategy sooner rather than later. Because
as the research mentioned earlier shows, women have a lot of power — and
we’re increasingly in a better position to use that power to demand the
change we want.

Which made the #BeBoldforChange theme for International Women’s Day 2017 last year
all the more fitting, especially since advancing women at work is one of
the campaign’s main areas of action. But this can’t be just about doing
the work on one day a year. It’s about raising the volume on a
conversation that women have been having for a long time. (Don’t believe
us? Check out this letter to the editor published in The New York Times
back in 1869 asking about equal pay.)

So yes, be bold for change today. And tomorrow. And the day after that.
And let’s tap into our power every step along the way to make it happen.

What does that power look like? It’s the power of controlling 80% of
consumer spending that we can direct toward women-owned businesses and
businesses that treat women well. The power to start businesses at a
fraction of the cost of back-in-the-day thanks to advances in technology,
the growth of the support system around start-ups, and the support of
women-focused funders and crowdfunding. The power to unleash the billions
of dollars in potential wealth at our fingertips by investing.

This is how we can start to change the narrative around working women and
money — because until women are financially equal with men, we will not
be equal with men. And instead of hearing story after story about women
being underprepared for retirement, more of us can share our experiences
of retiring with enough money, starting businesses, and accumulating
wealth.

Information was obtained from third party sources, which we believe to be
reliable but not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness.

The information provided should not be relied upon as investment advice or
recommendations, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell
securities and should not be considered specific legal, investment or tax
advice.

Investing entails risk including the possible loss of principal and there
is no assurance that the investment will provide positive performance over
any period of time.

Money is power.Invest like a woman.

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